A performance of Shakespeare’s Richard III at Leicester Cathedral went ahead tonight without any protests taking place.

Members of the Richard III Society, who consider the Bard’s play to be Tudor propaganda that inaccurately paints the last Plantagenet king as a child-killing despot, had been against it being performed inside the cathedral just yards from the 15th century monarch’s remains.

In a public debate about the show, historian Philippa Langley and other campaigners called on the cathedral to pick a different venue for the sold-out touring show, which is also at the cathedral tomorrow night.

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The society said in an open letter to the cathedral: “The staging of Shakespeare’s defamatory play beside the king’s grave is not an appropriate or Christian act, and directly contravenes not only your own commitment to rebury the king with dignity and honour, but also your public acceptance to keep the remains safely, privately and decently.”

The society had planned a demonstration outside the cathedral tonight but it was called off after the cathedral allowed the society to provide flyers, to be given to all audience members, about why the play is not an accurate representation of Richard III.

Joanne Larner, who has been involved in the campaign, said: “We have agreed to put flyers on the seats for the audience rather than do anything else.

“We have also lit a candle for Richard in the cathedral and laid a large bunch of white roses.”

Richard III, the last King of England to be killed in battle, died in 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth. His remains were brought to Leicester and buried.

In a dig that began in 2012, his remains were recovered from underneath the Greyfriars car park in the city and he was reinterred at Leicester Cathedral in March 2015.